Sammies-recognized USDA engineer extending lives of dams, preventing major disasters

Summary: When it comes to dams operated by the federal government, most of us tend to think of the big ones named after former presidents. But the Agriculture Department plays a little-recognized role in managing the nation’s dams too: Tens of thousands of them. Most of them are relatively small, and they’re showing their age. But USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has found innovative ways to extend their lives and prevent potentially catastrophic floods. Sherry Hunt is a supervisory research engineer who’s led ARS’ work on this topic – and she’s a finalist in this year’s Service to America medals program. She talked about her research – and USDA’s role in dam management – with Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices